1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a battery pack, and more particularly, to a coupling mechanism between a cover and a base of a battery pack.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a battery pack used for portable electronic devices such as portable computers, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), camcorders and others is fabricated as a bundle of several battery cells because of a capacity limit of each individual battery cell.
The battery pack may include a first case or cover having a plurality of protrusions around a periphery thereof, a second case or base having a plurality of grooves in a position corresponding to the protrusions of the first case to allow the grooves of the second case to be coupled to the protrusions of the first case, a plurality of battery cells within a space between the first and second cases, and a protective circuit board installed in one side of the battery cells to control charging and discharging. The battery pack is mounted in the portable electronic device to provide a power supply thereto. Further, the protrusions may be on the second case and the grooves may be on the first case. Additionally, the battery cells may be general cylinder type lithium ion batteries.
However, a conventional battery pack may be easily uncoupled by an external force because the first case is coupled to the second case by a simple structure of the protrusions and the grooves. For instance, after separating the battery pack from a portable electronic device, the battery pack is easily uncoupled when it is twisted by using both hands.
Furthermore, the first and second cases may be easily separated from each other by an external force such that a plurality of battery cells and a protective circuit board located inside the first case are exposed to the outside.
Additionally, when the first and second cases are separated from each other by force, the protrusions and grooves thereon may be damaged such that the first and second cases are difficult to recouple together. Accordingly, the first and second cases are not reuseable and should be discarded.